How Giving Birth Changes Your Brain

How Giving Birth Changes Your Brain

Ask any newly pregnant lady; growing a human is no easy task. Her hormones spike as her body goes through a significant physical change, during pregnancy, a woman's uterus expands by more than 500 times its usual size. However, not all changes are apparent. Actually, the major changes take place in her brain. According to a study released on Monday in Nature Neuroscience, pregnant women's brains undergo major remodelling that lasts for at least two years after the baby is born. The study also provides some preliminary indications that this remodelling might aid women's adjustment to childbirth.

Brain scans of first-time mothers were conducted before and after pregnancy by a team of researchers at Autonomous University of Barcelona, led by neuroscientist Elseline Hoekzema of Leiden University. The researchers discovered significant grey matter changes in brain regions linked to social cognition and theory of mind—the same regions that were activated when women looked at photos of their infants. These alterations, which persisted for two years following birth and could be used by a computer algorithm to determine which women had been pregnant, predicted women's results on a test of maternal attachment.

It truly is love at first sight for a mother when she first meets her newborn. That's because her brain's reward network's main areas begin to function after childbirth. Dopamine and oxytocin are released into her blood as a result of them, causing her to feel an intense bond of love and dedication for her infant. They trigger the release of feel-good chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin into her blood, which instantly intensifies her bond of love and commitment to her child.

Actually, research indicates that oxytocin levels in new mothers are comparable to those in newlyweds and intimate partners. Mothers of people are not the only ones affected. Researchers found that rats feeding their pups gave them a greater dopamine rush than receiving cocaine shots. Brain scans also show that a human mother has a similar reaction when she sees her child smile. But when her infant begins wailing, the situation changes.

The emotion regulation network, which is activated by such cries, is located in the mother's brain. The prefrontal and cingulate control systems are part of it, and they aid in keeping her emotions under check. And that's crucial because it's simple to lose your temper when you're exhausted from lack of sleep and upset by the baby crying. New mothers are really more aware than usual because of their brains' salience system, despite the fact that parenthood can be tiring.

Researchers believe giving birth signals this system to assist a mother recognise threats and protect her newborn baby from damage, Particularly, in risky conditions where that system can aid in ramping up adrenaline.

A mother, nonetheless, must regularly understand her infant's needs. She employs empathy, that stems from her brain's social network, to achieve that. It involves the amygdala and insular, which scientists discovered were more active when mothers viewed images of their infants in distress as opposed to neutral images. However, changes don't just occur in the brain of the mother. According to scientists, the brain of a father releases oxytocin when interacting with his child as well.

Prolactin levels frequently increase in conjunction with this. Prolactin is usually referred to as the "milk hormone" since it stimulates the creation of breast milk, but males can also make it. Studies shows that fathers who play with their infants regularly have greater blood levels of prolactin than fathers who don't. Additionally, they were more receptive to their infant's screams. So having a child is ultimately a significant shift. not only for your way of life, but also for your intellect.